Mariska Hargitay Shied Away From Sexual Roles Because of Her Mother
Actor Mariska Hargitay made a name for herself portraying the iconic Olivia Benson in Law & Order SVU. But in the beginning of her career, she was picky regarding the film roles she played. She asserted she once even intentionally avoided doing more sexual roles thanks to her late mother.
Mariska Hargitay stayed away from sexual roles
Hargitay’s mother Jayne Mansfield wasn’t just an actor, but a sex symbol in the 1950s and 60s. Before she made her mark in the film industry, she’d gotten attention by winning beauty pageants. Afterwards, she studied acting professionally, combining her looks and abilities to build her portfolio. She enjoyed a decade-long acting career before she died of a car accident in June 29, 1967.
Hargitay stepped into her mother’s footsteps, carving her own legacy as an actor. But it didn’t start out that way. Despite her mother’s career, Hargitay wasn’t born with the acting bug. She asserted that it was actually a teacher that inspired her to go down that path.
“I didn’t start acting until junior year of high school,” Hargitay once told People. “I wasn’t interested. But in junior year, my history teacher Sister Margaret — who I loved — said, ‘I think you should try out for a play.’”
She developed a knack and a passion for acting similar to the way her mother did. But the late Mansfield influenced Hargitay’s performance without her even realizing it. Before she nabbed her most popular role, Hargitay was picky about the types of characters she played.
“I played lots of tomboys, wearing flannel shirts, jean and boots,” she once told the Los Angeles Times. “On some unconscious level, I was shying away from those sexual roles because of my mother. But as I got older, I changed my mind. I now look forward to doing all kinds of parts, including those that are sexual and sensual.”
Mariska Hargitay didn’t want to compete with her mother as a sex symbol
Hargitay didn’t have the easiest time making it as an actor in the beginning. She held down regular jobs to support her acting career, which wasn’t flourishing the way it did for her contemporaries. She was also a different actor than Mansfield in terms of her appearance and her career goals. Mansfield was known for her sex-symbol status and her blonde hair. But Hargitay wasn’t interested in inheriting her mother’s symbol. Nor did Hargitay think that would play to her strengths.
“I can never compete, so I don’t try. It’s mega über, it’s legendary, it’s iconic. Being a sex symbol is not my thing; it’s not where I shine,” she once said according to the Joyful Heart Foundation.
It was noted that her unique and exotic appearance occasionally worked against her. She was even told to get a nose job by an executive to help her chances in Hollywood.
“I said, ‘You get a nose job,’” she remembered quipping to the executive.
Her looks also nearly cost her a role in ER, where she landed the breakthrough role of Cynthia Hooper. The producers behind the show didn’t want her for the role. But Hargitay would ambush one of the executives, and talk him into hiring her.
“She’s very convincing,” a writer for ER said at the time.
This same attitude played a part in Hargitay being cast in Law & Order SVU. When she went to the audition, Hargitay saw she had to compete with other actors for the part. And she would later complain to the series’ creator Dick Wolf about it.
“When I saw other actresses in the room, I walked into Dick Wolf’s office and said, ‘You gotta be kidding! What’s with the other women? This is my part, sweetheart. Tell them to go home,’” she said.
